Natural hazards · Clear Lake

Clear Lake, SD natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Clear Lake comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 6 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Clear Lake?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Clear Lake to be higher than in 47% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding33%Cold waves31%Tornadoes15%Heat waves5%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Clear Lake faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

33% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 55% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

31% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 100 years in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Clear Lake flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Clear Lake.

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Clear Lake isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Deuel County.

Disasters that hit Clear Lake

6 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Clear Lake itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Clear Lake.

Brought FEMA money into Clear LakeDeclared for Deuel County only

2022

Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$12K to the City of Clear Lake for repairs

2019

Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding

$11K to the City of Clear Lake for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$26K to the City of Clear Lake for repairs

2011

Flooding

$10K to the City of Clear Lake for repairs

2005

Severe Winter Storm

$9K to the City of Clear Lake for repairs

2001

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams

$4K to the City of Clear Lake for repairs

Deuel County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Clear Lake covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Clear Lake’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Clear Lake. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Clear Lake total about $1.3M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.